Burial Trench

One major aspect that makes Shiloh stand out from other major Civil War battlefields is the fact that large numbers of Confederates remain buried in the trenches where they were moved after the battle. In the 1890s, the War Department claimed that it had found up to nine burial trenches. However, only five remain known and marked on the field today. Without a doubt, and perhaps like across any other battlefield, the other lost trenches and even several undiscovered individual burials must still be out there. The largest trench is believed to contain at least 700 bodies. With over 1,700 dead officially registered by Confederate forces, these five burials make up a large proportion of that vast number.